MEDICAL  STAFF  OF  THE  KOREA  MISSION 
DR.  E.  D.  FOLLWELL 

DR.  J.  D.  VAN  BUSKIRK  DR.  A.  H.  NORTON 


DR.  I.  M.  MI1.LER 


CHRISTIAN  MEDICAL 
WORK  IN  KOREA 


By  GEORGE  HEBER  JONES 


BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
METHODIST  EPISCOTAL  CHURCH 
KOREA  QUARTER-CENTENNIAL  COMMISSION 
150  FIFTH  AVENUE 
NEW  YORK  CITY 


“And  as  ye  go  Heal  the  sick.” 

Jesus. 

“If  we  cannot  capture  humanity  by  our  doctrines  perhaps 
we  can  by  our  doctoring.  The  basin  and  the  towel  are  the 
insignia  of  our  religion  as  well  as  the  cross.” 

George  P.  Eckman. 


MEDICAL  WORK  IN  KOREA 

Not  long  since  a man  came  to  our  dispensary  in  Pyeng- 
yang,  and  with  a smile  on  his  face  greeted  Dr.  Foil  well,  the 
physician  in  charge,  with  “Don’t  you  know  me?”  The 
doctor  thought  a moment,  tried  hard,  among  the  memories 
of  the  eighty-five  thousand  patients  who  had  passed  under 
his  skill  since  he  came  to  Korea,  to  recollect  that  particular 
man,  but  had  to  confess  that  he  could  not  remember  his 
name.  “Why,”  replied  the  man,  “I  w^as  blind  five  years  ago 
and  you  gave  me  sight,  and  as  I was  going  through  Pyeng- 
yang  I felt  I could  not  pass  by  without  coming  once  more 
to  thank  you  for  your  great  kindness  to  me.”  That  single 
incident  has  value  enough  to  justify  all  the  expenditure  of 
money  and  time  on  medical  work  in  Korea  since  the  be- 
ginning, and  yet  this  man  was  only  one  among  five  hundred 
thousand  men,  women,  and  children  who  have  received 
relief  from  sickness  at  the  hands  of  the  medical  missionaries 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission  in  that  country. 

In  the  formal  statement  prepared  by  Dr.  Robert  S. 
Maclay,  the  first  of  our  missionaries  to  visit  Seoul,  concern- 
ing the  purpose  of  Christian  missions,  emphasis  was  laid 
upon  the  ministry  to  the  sick,  and  from  the  founding  of  the 
mission  this  emphasis  has  been  maintained.  As  a result 
Christian  hospitals,  with  their  dispensaries,  and  the  country 
medical  evangelistic  work  of  the  physicians,  have  disarmed 
prejudice,  opened  the  doors  of  multiplied  thousands  of 
Korean  homes,  and  won  many  souls  for  Christ.  The  medical 
missionary  in  Korea  has  followed  the  example  of  his  Lord 
by  going  about  doing  good,  and  stands  for  the  best  in  West- 
ern civilization  by  giving  himself  to  one  of  the  most  highly 
appreciated  and  effective  forms  of  practical  Christian  service. 

The  reputation  of  our  hospitals  is  more  than  that  of  secu- 
lar institutions  where  professional  service  is  granted  in 
return  for  money;  they  are  places  where  the  needy  sick  may 

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obtain  care  and  relief.  This  is  well  illustrated  by  another 
incident  at  Pyeng-yang. 

One  day  a man  fell  among  thieves,  and  was  left  bruised 
and  bleeding  by  the  wayside.  He  was  robbed  of  all  he  had 
and  left  to  die,  his  hands,  face,  and  clothing  covered  with  his 


A TYPICAL  KOREAN  FAMILY  AND  THEIR  HOME 
The  chief  characteristics  of  the  house  are  darkness,  lack  of  air,  and 
lack  of  space 

own  blood.  In  this  condition  he  was  found  by  a passerby, 
w^ho,  seeing  his  helpless  condition,  called  a farmhand,  and 
together  they  brought  him  to  our  dispensary.  After  attend- 
ing to  the  man’s  wounds  the  doctor  asked  the  Korean  why 

G 


he  had  brought  the  man  to  him  and  not  taken  him  to  a gov- 
ernment hospital.  The  man  answered:  “Is  there  a hospital 
in  any  part  of  our  country  other  than  those  belonging  to  the 
Christians  where  the  poor  and  helpless  are  welcomed  and 
will  be  cared  for?”  This  testimony  to  the  value  of  our 
Christian  hospitals  indicates  the  attitude  of  the  masses  of 
the  people  toward  them. 

SOME  RESULTS  OF  MEDICAL  MISSIONS 

Christian  medical  missions  have  exerted  a far-reaching 
influence  in  Korea.  The  following  significant  facts  indicate 
this: 

1.  The  first  resident  missionary  in  Korea  was  a physician. 
He  had  to  face  the  opposition  and  antagonism  of  a people 
ignorant  of  and  unfriendly  to  the  Christian  faith.  All  mis- 
sions that  have  entered  Korea  have  sent  physicians  among 
their  first  missionaries.  By  their  skill  they  compel  a friendly 
and  favorable  reception  to  Christianity.  It  has  been  said 
that  Korea  was  opened  to  missions  by  the  lancet  of  the 
Christian  doctor. 

2.  Christian  physicians  brought  to  the  Korean  people 
their  first  knowledge  of  modern  medical  science.  Previous 
to  their  coming  the  native  medical  service  held  to  practices 
of  a cruel  and  revolting  character,  and  many  of  the  remedies 
used  were  loathsome  and  abominable.  The  loss  of  life 
through  ignorant  and  vicious  medical  practice  was  enormous. 
The  first  messengers  of  a new  day  for  the  sick  and  dying 
were  Christian  doctors,  and  to  them  the  nation  owes  its  first 
knowledge  of  great  modern  remedies  like  quinine. 

3.  Christian  missions  founded  the  first  hospitals  and  dis- 
pensaries where  on  anything  like  an  adequate  scale  Korean 
communities  could  find  medical  service.  A hospital  or 
dispensary  was  not  known  in  the  empire  of  Korea  until 
founded  by  a Christian  missionary. 

4.  Christian  missions  established  the  first  nurses’  training 
schools  in  Korea,  and  educated  the  first  graduate  nurses 
ever  known  among  the  people.  In  this  way  they  not  only 
brought  to  the  Korean  people  the  helpful  ministry  of  the 


trained  nurse,  but  opened  up  for  the  womanhood  of  the  land 
a new  and  far-reaching  field  of  activity. 

5.  It  was  due  to  the  efforts  of  Christian  physicians  that 
the  first  successful  attempts  were  made  to  check  the  ravages 


THE  FIRST  GRADUATE  KOREAN  NURSES 
AND  THEIR  DIPLOMAS  [w.  F.  M.  S.] 


of  epidemics  like  Asiatic  cholera,  the  bubonic  plague,  and 
smallpox.  By  their  efforts  and  the  extension  of  the  lines  of 
work  which  they  first  inaugurated  in  Korea  many  thousands 
of  lives  have  been  saved  and  multiplied  thousands  of  years 
of  life  and  usefulness  have  been  added  to  the  sum  total  of 
life  in  Korea. 

6.  Christian  physicians  pioneered  the  way  for  sanitary 
science.  Previous  to  their  coming  there  was  no  word  in  the 
Korean  language  for  sanitation.  They  gave  the  Koreans 
the  first  suggestion  of  that  idea. 

From  these  facts  it  will  be  seen  that  Christian  medical 
missions  have  done  a large  and  valuable  service  in  setting 
up  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  among  the  Korean  people. 

8 


REASONS  FOR  MEDICAL  MISSIONS 

As  urgent  as  the  necessity  was  for  Christian  medical 
missions  in  Korea  in  the  pioneer  days,  the  necessity  is  many- 
fold  more  urgent  at  the  present  time,  and  for  that  reason 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  its  Quarter-Centennial 


WHERE  UNTIL  RECENTLY  THE  CITY  OF  PYENG-YANG  WITH 
A POPULATION  OF  60,000  HAS  PROCURED  ITS  SUPPLY 
OF  DRINKING  WATER  DURING  ITS  THREE 
THOUSAND  YEARS  OF  HISTORY 

Movement  is  appealing  for  contributions  to  establish  an 
adequate  medical  mission  plant  in  the  field  which  has  been 
assigned  to  us  through  cooperative  agreements  with  the 
other  missions  at  work  in  that  land.  It  is  proposed  to  locate 
medical  men  at  our  interior  stations.  The  following  are 
some  of  the  reasons  which  call  for  this: 

1.  It  is  as  true  to-day  as  ever  that  the  sick  in  Korea,  as  in 
all  nations,  constitute  a special  class  standing  in  sore  need 
of  Christian  sympathy  and  service  and  peculiarly  open  to 
Christian  influence  and  impression.  They  present  them- 
selves as  insistently  a class  calling  for  special  service  as  do 
the  children  and  the  young  people  in  their  call  for  educa- 
tional work. 


9 


2.  There  is  a pitiful  lack  of  trained  medical  practitioners 
throughout  Korea.  The  Christian  physician  will  often  be 
the  only  medical  practitioner  in  the  city  in  which  he  is  lo- 
cated, and  in  the  region  through  which  he  will  work  there 
will  be  whole  counties  where  there  will  be  no  physicians 
at  all. 

3.  It  is  necessary  that  there  should  be  a physician  at  an 
interior  mission  station  in  order  to  care  for  the  health  of 
the  resident  missionaries  and  their  families.  It  is  a serious 
thing  to  send  the  wives  and  children  of  American  mis- 
sionaries to  posts  where  they  will  be  several  days’  journey 
from  the  nearest  doctor,  and  it  is  the  practice  of  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  that  there  shall  be  a physician  at  each 
interior  station.  In  emphasizing  this  need,  Dr.  Follwell,  the 
senior  physician  of  the  mission,  says  in  his  report: 

“Twice  during  the  past  year  I was  hastily  summoned  to 
Yeng-ben  because  of  sickness  in  our  mission  family  there. 
On  each  occasion  it  was  twenty-six  hours  from  the  time 
word  was  sent  me  before  I was  able  to  reach  the  sick  one, 
and  even  before  I was  notified  the  little  one  had  been  ill  one 
or  more  days.  Think  of  the  strain  upon  the  family  watching 
by  the  bedside  of  the  little  child  with  the  doctor  twenty-six 
hours  away  by  the  most  rapid  transit  possible!  A mother 
is  more  than  walling  to  go  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow 
of  death  for  her  little  ones,  and  wall  bear  agony  and  pain  for 
them  when  such  experience  is  necessary,  but  is  it  not  too 
much  to  ask  our  coworkers  in  the  outstations  to  remain  so 
far  from  the  services  of  a doctor  when  illness  enters  their 
homes?  The  women  of  our  outstations  are  brave,  loyal, 
and  true,  and  in  pleading  for  medical  men  for  Kong-ju, 
Haiju,  Yeng-ben,  and  Wonju  it  is  not  because  I feel  that  the 
friends  are  not  in  sympathy  with  placing  them  at  these 
centers  (I  know  the  contrary  to  be  true),  but  it  is  because 
I w'ant  to  emphasize  at  this  time  the  importance  of  the  step 
and  to  impress  upon  all  hearts  the  fact  that  there  must  be 
provision  made  for  medical  missionaries  at  our  outstations 
before  our  married  workers  can  or  should  reside  there 
permanently.” 


10 


4.  The  medical  missionary  is  an  effective  soul- winner. 
The  hospitals  themselves  are  centers  of  evangelistic  work, 


LIVING  EXAMPLES  OF  MEDICAL  MISSION- 
ARY WORK  UNDER  THE  W.  F.  M.  S. 

The  girl  to  the  left  has  had  her  arms  ampu- 
tated. The  girl  to  the  right  has  had  a bone 
removed  from  her  leg.  Both  are  able  to 
write  and  take  care  of  themselves. 

and  along  with  healing  of  the  body  the  healing  message  of 
Jesus  Christ  is  ministered  to  the  needy  souls  of  men  and 
women. 

OUR  MEDICAL  PLANS 

The  sum  total  for  medical  work  called  for  in  the  budget 
of  the  Quarter-Centennial  Fund  is  less  than  Fifty  Thou- 
sand Dollars,  a sum  which  many  men  in  our  church 
could  amply  afford  to  give.  It  is  thrilling  to  think  of 
the  good  that  would  be  accomplished  by  one  such  gift,  for 
by  the  investment  of  Fifty  Thousand  Dollars  a man  could 
be  instrumental  in  erecting  hospitals  and  dispensaries  at 

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strategic  points  throughout  the  empire  of  Korea  which  for 
two  generations  would  administer  physical  relief  to  not  less 
than  fifty  thousand  men,  women,  and  children  annually, 
and  that  besides  being  instrumental  in  bringing  the  gospel 
message  to  the  multiplied  thousands  who  make  up  their 
friends  and  families,  out  of  which  knowledge  would  come 
many  thousands  of  souls  won  from  sin  and  death  to  ever- 
lasting hfe. 

The  following  is  the  proposed  budget  for  medical  work 
in  Korea: 


Hospital  at  Pyeng-yang $12,000 

Hospital  at  Kong-ju 10,000 

Hospital  at  Yeng-ben 7,000 

Hospital  at  Haiju 7,000 

Hospital  at  Wonju 5,000 


In  addition  to  the  above  sums  for  buildings,  there  should  be 
added  the  amounts  necessary  for  furniture,  instruments, 
apparatus,  and  drugs.  Fifty  Thousand  Dollars  would  be 
amply  sufficient  for  the  above  five  buildings  and  their 
equipment . 

Presenting  these  five  stations  in  order,  we  have: 

1.  Pyexg-yaxg 

Pyeng-yang  is  the  capital  city  of  the  South  Pyeng-an 
Province,  with  a population  of  about  50,000,  and  the 
strongest  Christian  center  in  the  empire.  It  was  here  the 
great  revival  of  1907  took  its  rise  and  has  given  to  the  town 
the  name  of  the  Korean  Jerusalem.  Here  is  located  our 
strongest  mission  station,  with  seven  mission  families, 
besides  the  workers  of  the  Woman’s  Foreign  ^lissionary 
Society,  in  residence.  Dr.  Foil  well  arrived  in  Pyeng-j^ang  in 
1896,  and  during  the  first  year  of  his  service  treated  3,000 
patients.  This  has  grown  to  a clinic  of  13,223  treatments 
during  the  year  March  1st,  1909,  to  February  2Sth,  1910. 
During  his  service  as  physician  in  charge  of  the  hospital  he 

12 


has  treated  over  98,000  patients.  Surely  this  is  a great 
record  for  one  man! 

With  what  facilities  has  this  been  carried  on?  This  great 
work  has  been  done  in  a small  detached  native  building  of 
mud  walls  and  ceiling;  another  building,  consisting  of  two 


HALL  MEMORIAL  HOSPITAL,  PYENG-YANG 

wards  each  twelve  feet  square,  and  the  kitchen  and  living 
room  for  the  hospital  orderly,  and  an  old  barn  used  for 
isolation  purposes.  The  whole  present  plant  is  quite  unfit 
in  which  to  do  proper  medical  work.  It  originally  cost 
under  $1,500,  and  for  the  past  thirteen  years  has  been  our 
make-shift  in  which  the  doctor  has  struggled  on,  hoping 
for  the  day  when  he  would  have  something  like  fair  facilities 
with  which  to  work.  It  is  very  evident  that  in  such  sur- 
roundings, and  with  the  poorest  and  most  meager  equip- 
ment, it  is  impossible  to  obtain  satisfactory  results. 

The  sum  proposed  in  the  estimates  of  $12,000  will  erect 
a small  but  modern  hospital  and  dispensary,  thoroughly 
equipped  with  steam  heat  and  light,  and  possessing  a first- 
class  operating  room  and  wards. 

13 


2.  Kong-ju 


This  city  is  the  capital  of  the  South  Chung-chong  Pro\’ince, 
and  the  seat  of  our  second  largest  mission  station  in  Korea. 
Here  are  resident  five  mission  families,  besides  a home  for 
workers  under  the  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary'  Society, 
directing  work  in  a parish  with  fully  one  million  population 
and  in  which  we  are  the  only  mission  at  work.  There  is  a fine 
site  for  a hospital  and  dispensary  already  secured,  but  plans 
to  build  part  of  the  basement,  put  a roof  over  it,  and  use  it 
for  a temporary  dispensary  are  rendered  futile  because  of  a 
lack  of  funds.  Dr,  ^"an  Buskirk,  the  resident  physician, 
possesses  a working  knowledge  of  the  language  and  is  ready 
for  work,  but  without  a hospital,  dispensary,  drugs,  or 
facilities  is  thoroughly  handicapped.  It  is  the  plan  of  the 
mission  to  erect  a hospital  to  cost  810,000,  which  will  build 
a two-story  brick  building  with  room  for  a dispensary  and 
wards  to  accommodate  twenty  in-patients.  The  dispensary 
will  treat  probably  not  less  than  ten  thousand  patients  a 
year. 

3.  Yexg-bex 

Yeng-ben  is  the  principal  city  in  the  mountainous  region 
of  the  North  Pyeng-an  Province,  It  has  a population  of 
about  7,000,  but  is  the  only  Christian  mission  station  in  a 
region  containing  seven  counties,  covering  a territory  150 
miles  long  by  75  miles  in  width,  and  with  a population  esti- 
mated at  at  least  one  quarter  of  a million.  The  doctor  is 
assisted  by  one  native  helper,  who  does  his  best  to  help 
care  for  the  crowds  of  patients  who  come  seeking  relief, 
which  the  native  doctors  have  tried  in  vain  to  give.  Dr. 
I.  M.  Miller,  who  has  lately  gone  to  Yeng-ben  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Division  Street  Church,  Grand  Rapids, 
Mich.,  will  be  in  charge  of  the  work.  In  order  to  adequately 
meet  the  demands  placed  upon  us  in  that  region  a building 
sufficiently  large  and  well  equipped  to  enable  us  to  handle 
this  work  advantageously  is  urgently  needed.  The  site  for 
the  building  is  already  in  our  possession — a prominent  hill- 
side just  off  the  main  road,  overlooking  the  cit}',  and  ex- 

14 


cellently  located  for  hospital  purposes.  It  is  estimated  that 
the  cost  of  the  building  will  be  $7,000.  Inasmuch  as  the 


THE  CHIEF  RELIANCE  OF  THE  KOREANS  IN  TIME  OF  SICKNESS 
PROPITIATION  AND  SACRIFICE  TO  THE  DEMONS 

patients  willingly  pay  a small  fee  intended  to  cover  the  cost 
of  drugs  used,  the  institution  will  enjoy  a measure  of 
self-support. 

4.  Haiju 

This  also  is  a provincial  capital,  being  the  principal  city  of 
the  Whang-hai  Province,  which  has  a population  of  958,852. 
There  is  only  one  other  foreign  physician,  a medical  mis- 
sionary of  the  Presbyterian  mission  station  fifty  miles  north 
from  Haiju.  A conservative  estimate  of  the  population  of 
the  large  district  which  will  be  served  by  our  mission  station 
puts  it  at  500,000.  Haiju  City  itself  has  a population  of 
40,000.  Recently  Dr.  Norton  has  gone  there,  but  he  does  so 
with  no  hospital  and  only  a temporary  building  in  which  to 
work  as  a dispensary  and  only  such  funds  as  may  be  found 
from  outside  sources  with  which  to  begin  his  work.  Build- 

15 


ings  are  absolutely  needed,  and  it  is  estimated  that  S7,000 
will  build  a brick  hospital  that  will  meet  the  needs  of  the 
field. 

o.  Woxju 

This  is  the  principal  city  in  the  southern  half  of  the  Kang- 
won  Province,  which  stretches  along  the  east  coast  of  Korea. 
Our  station  there  is  a new  one,  and  will  be  the  most  distant 
and  inaccessible  of  all  our  Korean  mission  stations.  It  will 
serve  a territory  which  has  a population  of  400,000  people, 
and  ours  will  be  the  only  point  where  they  can  secure  mod- 
ern medical  relief.  For  the  purpose  of  erecting  a small 
hospital,  with  dispensary  and  operating  room  and  ward 
accommodations  at  this  point,  the  sum  of  S5,000  is  asked. 
Will  not  somebody  take  advantage  of  this  opportunity  for 
an  investment  in  one  of  the  neediest  and  yet,  in  the  way  of 
returns,  one  of  the  most  productive  regions  in  the  mission 
field? 


OPPORTUNITIES  FOR  PAYING  INVESTMENTS 

In  conclusion,  the  estimates  necessaiy  to  maintain  staff 
and  equipment  yearly  in  these  hospitals  will  be  of  interest. 


Salary  of  trained  assistant  one  year SI 50 

Salary  of  native  trained  nurse 120 

Salary  of  second  assistant 90 

Salary  of  hospital  evangelist 90 

Salary  of  hospital  orderly 60 

Salary  of  hospital  Bible  woman 60 

Annual  cost  maintenance  of  a bed  to  treat 

those  who  cannot  pay 45 


Will  not  the  physicians  of  our  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  this  great  land  of  ours,  where  the  advantages  of  Christian 
civilization  and  modern  medical  science  are  so  free  and 
adequate,  interest  themselves  in  this  field  to  give  to  a sorely 
distressed  and  heartbroken  people  a share  in  the  blessings 
which  we  so  freely  enjoy? 


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